Brendan Rodgers: Celtic is my dream job but I understand why I'm being linked with Arsenal

BRENDAN RODGERS last night admitted he wasn’t hugely surprised to be linked with Arsenal but once again stressed he was in no rush to quit his ‘dream job.’

Several English media outlets this week suggested the Celtic manager would be a leading candidate should the under-pressure Arsene Wenger be ousted from the London club, although as things stand, Diego Simone of Athletic Madrid is the No1 choice.

Rodgers shrugged off such speculation, which he believed has come about because of his success in bringing Champions League football to both Liverpool and Celtic. Arsenal are currently heading, at best, for a second season in the Europa League.

And when asked about the most recent link, Rodgers said: “Arsenal is a great club with a great manager. People will look at it and see that when I went to Liverpool they were struggling for five seasons for Champions League football and I was able to get them back.

“And when I came to Celtic, they hadn’t been in the Champions League for three seasons, and I got them back.

"So maybe people are thinking – okay, Arsenal have been out of the Champions League and is that maybe the equation for someone like myself.

“I’m loving my life up here. I’m not going to be here forever but I’m living in a dream. And dreams always come to an end at some point, that’s for sure. But I am always relaxed about speculation and what not.

“For me, my focus and my life is here. I love my professional life, the challenges of managing, the expectations, the scrutiny that comes with Celtic.

“Arsene has got great experience, he’s a really good man. He’s done wonders for British football and it’s just unfortunate at this period and for a little period now the focus has really been on him - - but that’s new football I’m afraid.”

Celtic’s Scottish Cup quarter-final with Morton has beaten the weather, and Rodgers’s has been impressed with this afternoon’s opponents who he visited recently for their league match with Livingston at Cappielow.

Rodgers said: “I drive away from that game and I think that I have just watched two honest sets of players doing their very best.

"And two coaches, one up in coming in Davie Hopkins, and one who has great experience in Jim Duffy.

“I never knew Jim, but I knew of Jim because when I worked at Chelsea as a youth coach, Jim had worked there previously before me and a lot of the older players spoke very highly of him as a coach.

“He has probably been unfortunate for whatever reason as to why he hasn’t had the reason to manage a bigger club. "Morton are fortunate to have someone with that quality working with them and I think his experience really helps the team.

“Young Jamie Lindsay went there from us and had a good spell with Jim and they have done brilliantly to get the results, a quarter-final and semi-final last year.”

Complacency has never been an issue under Rodgers and the manager made it clear that from now one, no matter the opposition, he will field his strongest team in ever game, as the countdown really begins towards a possible successive treble.

He said: “This is the part of the season I really enjoy now. We work hard to get to this position - the business end of the season. And now we can really focus in with that little bit more time to prepare as well.

“Now you see the real focus in the team. The real hunger in the team. Our first job now is to get to the semi-final. If we do that we are back to Hampden, which we like.”

Marvin Compper, who is yet to feature, and Patrick Roberts are in the squad but such is the importance of every game from now until May, they will only get a chance if they can definitely improve the team.

Rodgers said: “Marvin is in the squad, so is Patrick, but it’s not a fitness stage of the season.

‘I know we have players coming back. But these are not fitness games now. They are games to win.

‘It’s great to have the availability of players. Players are coming back, but the games are to win and win well. We won’t be chucking players in just to get fit.”

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